It is built at the foot of Chongzuitou in Wuzhishan Mountain, facing east and west. According to legend, this temple was built during the Zhizheng period of the Yuan Dynasty (around 1350). "Yinxian General Chronicle" records that it was built once during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt again in the 43rd year of Qianlong's reign. It has three main halls, three mountain gates, ten left and right wing rooms, and five side rooms, covering an area of ??about 1.2 acres. There is an iron Buddha inside, which is made of copper head, bronze hands and iron body, with the words "cast in the 20th year of the Great Yuan Dynasty".
In October 1998, Master Qingjie (also known as Zhaobo, formerly known as Shi Haibo) came to Tiefo Temple and determined to rebuild the temple. He successively bought the main hall where the villagers lived and other temple properties for more than 60,000 yuan. Later, in order to protect the historical site, Master Qingjie consulted a large number of documents and materials, restored the old ones, and cast three iron Buddhas, with Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle and two attendants Ananda and Kassapa on the two sides. The third floor of the Three Holy Temples (upstairs), Guanyin Hall, etc. have been built. The original Yin County Religious Affairs Bureau approved it in 2001 and issued a certificate on May 20, 2002: Yinzhou Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau's "Certificate for Retaining Religious Activity Sites" Zongchang Guozi No. (Yin 224). The person in charge is Qingjie.
According to investigation, the temple was once the family temple of Wang Yinglin, the author of the "Three Character Classic". It has a profound cultural heritage and is closely related to Neijiaquan. Xia Baofeng, the 13th generation successor of Neijiaquan, has visited many times. The temple discusses boxing and seeks roots.
1) The material of the Buddha statue is unique. The Buddha statues in Iron Buddha Temple are unique and made of iron. Most of the materials used to make Buddhas are clay sculptures, wood carvings and copper. This kind of iron Buddha statues is quite rare nationwide. According to records, the Iron Buddha in the temple is a seated Sakyamuni, about 3 meters high, with its head and hands made of iron.
(2) Long cultural origin. The 700-year-old Tiefo Temple has a long history with the culture of eastern Zhejiang. The Tiefo Temple was originally the family temple of Yinglin, a famous Confucian king in the Song Dynasty, so it has a historical mark that can be displayed culturally. The descendants of the Wang family later donated the family temple to Monk Benzhen, and another generation of martial arts master Wang Zhengnan lived here in seclusion. With his dancing shadows, loud fist sounds, and both civil and military skills, it was an important birthplace of the Neijiaquan of the Siming Dynasty in history. After the vicissitudes of life, uncovering the ruins of the Iron Buddha Temple left behind hundreds of years ago, what emerged was an astonishing legend. Ashoka Temple is the only existing thousand-year-old temple named after King Ashoka in China. It has a history of 1724 years since its establishment. The Ashoka Temple, which has survived for more than a thousand years, is relatively well preserved. The building is grand in scale and integrates ancient Buddhist architecture and architectural art in my country. It is a masterpiece of ancient Buddhist architecture in my country. To this day, in the ancient Yuwang site, there are still some relics such as emergent rock, cassock stone, and wushi'ao. The temple still preserves a large number of ancient buildings from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, which are rare among buildings of the same era and type across the country.
Asoka Temple covers an area of ??124,100 square meters, with a construction area of ??23,400 square meters. It has more than 30 buildings (666 in the old version) of halls, halls, buildings, pavilions, pavilions, courtyards and dormitories. Ashoka Temple is a culmination of scientific site selection and architectural design in ancient my country. Behind the temple is the main peak of Mount Lu, with Mount Yu on the left, facing Yuji Mountain, and the canyon on the right, leading directly to Baozhuang. . Looking from Baozhuang, the temple is at the bottom of the mountain; looking from Shayan (at the western foot of Yuji Mountain), it is hidden deep in the mountains, giving it a sense of paradise. Coupled with the beautiful mountains, lush forests, winding green hills, and undulating hills, it is known as the "Eight Auspicious and Six Special Resorts" in the world.
The whole temple is centered on the Tianwang Hall, the Main Hall and the Relic Hall, with left and right wings. There are 305 rooms on the left and 361 rooms on the right. They are shaped like a phoenix spreading its wings and are magnificent. Among the large group of houses, the three main halls are the most majestic. They all have heavy cornices, carved beams and painted pillars, and four corners decorated with luan, which are exquisite day and night. Among them, the Relic Hall is the most important of the three halls. It is covered with glazed tiles and contains colorful treasures. The inside and outside complement each other and are magnificent. The Yuan Pagodas with imitation pavilion-style brick and wood structures standing on the east and west sides echo each other and complement each other, integrating seamlessly with the entire ancient building complex. The shape of the whole temple, viewed from above, can be called the Palace of the Brahma King. Viewed from a distance, it looks like a cluster of buildings, both connected and uneven, dense and scattered. Where the buildings are densely packed, the walls are high, and where they are dispersed, corridors are connected to each other. If it rains, your shoes will not get wet; if it rains, it will protect you from the wind. It is both quiet and obvious, some are low and some are high. It can protect you from summer and protect you from winter. It is a place of pilgrimage to Buddha and a popular destination for tourists. The steles, stone carvings, plaques, couplets, jades, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings from past dynasties that have been preserved in the temple are physical examples of the thousand-year-old temple and have high historical and artistic value. Since its establishment, the Ashoka Temple has lasted more than 1,700 years. During this period, dynasties changed four times, and the temple suffered many disasters and experienced several rises and declines. To this day, the temple still retains cultural relics such as steles, stone carvings, plaques, couplets and other dynasties from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
Ashoka Temple is famous for its remarkable relic pagoda. Emperors of the past dynasties highly praised it, and scholars and scholars came to the temple in an endless stream to pay their respects. They splashed ink, wrote inscriptions and engraved monuments, which were passed down to future generations. So far, more than 60 stone tablets from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have been preserved in the temple, and there are numerous plaques and couplets. Among them, there are many exquisite works, including the "Permanent Residence Field Stele of Ashoka Temple" written by Tang calligrapher Fan. It is 2.8 meters high and 1.3 meters wide, with a text of 2060 words. The full text describes the establishment of the "Permanent Field" of Asoka Temple by imperial edict in the second year of Yuanjia in the Southern Dynasty and the story of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty. Allowing him to be exempted from the consequences of his land tax. The whole text is mixed with mysterious Zen sayings, narratives and discussions. The handwriting is round and graceful, with colorful dots and strokes. Bao Shichen of the Qing Dynasty wrote in "Yi Zhou Shuang Ji Shu Shu Shu Xia": "The Tang Dynasty was even more chaotic. The only people who passed down the calligraphy techniques were Mingzhou Buyi Fan and two young masters from Luoyang. Fan walked like a Ming Dynasty camel and behaved grandly." Kang Youwei of the Qing Dynasty said in "Guangyi Zhou Shuangji? Beitang No. 12": "Fan's "Ashoka Temple Stele" also has the meaning of the denseness of the Southern Dynasty." The stele was listed in the Shanghai "Calligraphy" magazine published in recent years. It is one of the "100 Tang Steles in the Country". The "Chenkui Pavilion Inscription" written and written by Su Shi of the Song Dynasty is 3 meters high and 1.45 meters wide. The full text is about 700 words. It describes the 17 "odes" written by Zen Master Dajue Huailian, the abbot of the temple, as gifted by Song Renzong. As the only physical object of Su Dongpo's literary sentiments left in eastern Zhejiang, this stele has precious cultural and historical value. Zhang Jiucheng of the Song Dynasty (the number one scholar in the Shaoxing period) wrote Miaoxiquan Ming. His writing style is direct and unrestrained, his stipples are strong, round and thick, and he is not constrained by rules. He is a very unique calligrapher with a eloquent expression. The four Tang Dynasty stone carvings of protectors embedded in the wall of the relic hall inherit the tradition of ancient Chinese Buddhist sculpture art and the essence of carving in their main style. Their lifelike shapes reflect the superb craftsmanship of the Tang Dynasty. The stone portraits of the Sixteenth Five Sons on the left and right walls of the Dharma Hall were carved in stone during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. The portraits were painted by monk Guanxiu of the Tang Dynasty. Each side is engraved with a poem inscribed by Qianlong, and the title and rank of the Dharma were re-determined. The sixteen and five sons have different postures and are lifelike. They are rare art treasures.
In the relic hall, which houses the rare treasure of Sakyamuni Buddha's true body, there is still hanging the imperial letter "The Tower of Light on the Top of the Buddha" written by Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty in the 26th year of Shaoxing in the Song Dynasty (1156). The "Miaosheng Palace" on the roof outside the palace is the imperial book of Emperor Xiaozong of Song Dynasty. Under the eaves of the Main Hall there is a horizontal plaque with the four characters "Jue Xing Ju Yuan", written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.
The three scriptures in the Jinzang Sutra Building: "Long Zang" was engraved in the eleventh year of Yongzheng's reign and completed in the third year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, with a total of 7239 volumes. "Jisha Cang" was engraved during the Republic of China, with a total of 6362 volumes. "Jiuxuzang" was compiled by the Nihon Sutra Collection Institute and a photocopy of the Commercial Press. It was completed in 7144 volumes during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty. It has high historical research value.
The temple currently retains 101 cultural relics such as jade, porcelain, bronze, calligraphy and painting from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, of which 44 are grade three or above (identified by the Ningbo Municipal Cultural Relics Appraisal Team and have been registration). Their large number and high quality are rare in other temples. In particular, the Buddha's true body relics stored in the temple have very high Buddhist value and are scarce resources that ordinary temples do not have. As early as the first year of Jiaxi in the Southern Song Dynasty, Lizong of the Song Dynasty ranked Ashoka Temple as "the second among the five mountains and ten temples in the world". In the fifteenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu canonized the famous temple in the world and decreed that Asoka Temple was "the fifth among the five Zen temples in the world". ” This is evident from its grand scale and majestic momentum. In 1984, the State Council of the People's Republic of China announced it as a "key Buddhist temple in the Han area of ??the country." In 2006, it was rated as a national cultural preservation unit.
Asoka Temple is the center of the eastward spread of ancient Chinese Buddhist culture and an important port on the Maritime Silk Road. Ashoka Temple has a long history of exchanges with foreign countries. The Tang Dynasty was the era of extensive contact with Japanese Buddhism. At that time, Luang County (today's Yinzhou), which was located on the main water and land transportation route, was an important port for foreign exchanges. The center of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty was in Chang'an, and Mingzhou (the seat of the county seat of Yinxian County) became the foothold for Japanese monks entering the Tang Dynasty from the south and returning to Japan, which gave Yinzhou Buddhism and Japanese monks opportunities for contact and exchange. In the second year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the famous eminent monk Jianzhen was invited by a Japanese eminent monk to travel east to Japan to promote the Vinaya sect. The third and fifth times he died in the sea in Ningbo. He, together with the Japanese monks Rongrui and Puzhao, retained the relics in the Ashoka Temple and The Vinaya sect was propagated in eastern Zhejiang until the sixth eastward journey was successful. Today, the relic list of Ashoka Temple still retains the relic list, the Jianzhen Memorial Hall, the pavilion and other memorial buildings.
In the Song Dynasty, foreign Buddhist exchanges reached a peak period. In order to absorb the essence of ancient Chinese architecture, the Japanese monk Chongyuan made a special trip to Mingzhou twice since the fourth year of Qiandao (1168). He studied Tang-style architecture in the King's Temple. After completing his studies, he returned to Japan and transported a large amount of wood from Japan's Shubōgoku (today's Yamaguchi Prefecture) to help build the Ashoka Temple Relic Hall. After returning to Japan, he presided over the relocation of Todaiji Temple, a famous Japanese building, and became a promoter of the Tang Dynasty in Japan. The ancestor of Chinese architecture. Boun Yitong (927-988), a monk from the Kingdom of Korea (927-988), went to China to seek Dharma during the Tianfu period of the later Jin Dynasty. He studied the Taizong and returned to the Pure Land, which had a great influence on later generations. After completing his studies, he promoted the teachings in the Ashoka Mountain area of ??Yinzhou for 20 years. After his death, he was buried in the Ashoka Mountain. Eisai, the founder of the Rinzai sect in Japan, went to Yin twice to seek Dharma during the Southern Song Dynasty. He visited Asoka Temple, Tentou Temple and other places to study the Rinzai sect. After returning to Japan, he became the founder of the Rinzai sect of Japanese Buddhism.
In addition, among the more than 140 Japanese monks who traveled and studied in China at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, many of them went to Ashoka Temple to pay homage to Elder Yue Jiangyin. Ashoka Temple became an important place for Buddhist cultural exchanges in ancient China. In recent times, Buddhist and cultural figures from Japan and South Korea have come to visit the temple in an endless stream, with an average of more than 10,000 visitors per year. Many of the abbots of our temple are invited to Japan and South Korea to pay homage and preach scriptures. In particular, Comrade Jiang Zemin visited Yuwang Temple in person, which further demonstrated the important status of the temple.